


Once Upon A Nightmare

by xNailedIt



Category: Sleeping Beauty (1959), Sleeping Beauty (Fairy Tale), Sleeping Beauty - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Past Lives, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Dark Past, Denial of Feelings, F/F, Family Issues, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idiots in Love, Immortality, Moral Ambiguity, Pining, Slow Burn, Temporary Amnesia, aurora has fear of sleeping, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24295954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xNailedIt/pseuds/xNailedIt
Summary: "The darkness can't help it if pure hearts are drawn to it."There was more to this mess of a life than pretty princesses and their dreamy smiles and longing to be the one they’re directed at.(or not)
Relationships: Aurora & Maleficent (Disney), Aurora/Maleficent (Disney)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 84





	1. An End and A Start

**Author's Note:**

> rating may change

It’s strange.

You would think opening your eyes to colors and shapes after being stuck in darkness for an unknown number of days would prove to be a relief. But the colors and shapes were equally if not more confusing and upsetting than the veil of nothingness. At least, that’s what Briar Rose would have to say about it.

For their sixteenth birthday some get the gift of a big cake and an even bigger party. Most will be given items of their desire, others only wishes and good-natured words. What Briar Rose received for hers was lot different.

She was in a car, with her three aunts, who apparently had a surprise for her. The surprise however, ended up being an accident. Aunt Mary had never been the most capable of drivers, because of how easily she could lose her cool. Something went wrong, they crashed. That’s the last image in Rose’s memory inventory.

Or would have been, had things not gone so badly.

Because when Rose woke up, when people claiming to be her mother Leah, her father Stephen, her aunts Mary or Flora or Fauna showed up, she did not recognize them. Not in the slightest.

Amnesia, the doctor said. She had hit her head.

To be honest, it was quite scary for her. They called her Aurora, a name in which she actually found no resonance. They were crying and shouting-which made her start crying and shouting.

But no matter, they could wait until she could remember. At least, she had woken up, that was important. It was important, they said.

Aurora, the name was not hard to get used to but she still could not identify with it, felt like she was letting everyone down. It had been a couple of months since the accident and she still couldn’t remember anything. In fact, it was as if there was nothing to remember.

It felt like she’d only just begun living the day she opened her eyes. But she never said that out loud, because there was no sense in it and because she didn’t want to hurt her family.

They were nice people, Leah and Stephen loved her so much, almost too much. Every hour it seemed, they wanted to be around her. Her aunts too. She found the three of them amusing sometimes. They would spend an awfully long time bantering on the most inconsequential things.

She developed somniphobia. Her parents and aunts were concerned when they found out about it, at a loss for what to do and very sad.

One day her therapist asked her why she believes sleep terrifies her. “I don’t know…” She mumbled and looked up. “I just feel like, if I fall asleep there will be no one around when I wake up. Or that I never _will_ wake up. Or,” She caught her breath. “I won’t be who I am. Someone else will take over me and I will just disappear.”

The accident, he said. It caused her to become scared of falling into another coma and amnesia made recalling her past a fear of losing who she was now. She thought it was a pretty solid conclusion.

“Do you have nightmares?”

“I don’t dream at all actually.”

She did sleep of course, but it was never anything better than obligatory. She dreaded it every day. The dreamless void.

High-school was not very pleasant. Quite the opposite really. There were people that were supposed to be her friends. They resembled annoying flies in your face. She just focused on the classes, tried to play nice to them though. Just because she didn’t have any memories of spending time with them didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends.

But she did wonder if she was very far from the girl they knew.

The first positive sign of her condition was when she randomly started singing a tune. Her family was ecstatic. You do love singing they said. She smiled genuinely that day.

Slowly after that, she discovered similar little things that made the world slightly more colorful and her family more hopeful, happier. She liked dancing along her singing, they confirmed this. She liked berries. “Of course you do, dear.”

She also loved animals. All types of animals. That didn’t seem to be as much of a breakthrough, she didn’t own any pets, but they weren’t negative towards it.

The more she thought about it, though, she didn’t want to keep an animal in the confines of her home. They had space, but she would rather take a walk in a park, listen to the birds in the trees, instead of having them in a gilded cage.

Her last year in high-school wasn’t anything exciting, nothing reckless. Her family wouldn’t have allowed it anyway. One change was now she called a boy her boyfriend. He was nothing exceptional, but she did like him.

Strangely enough, it was more her family encouraging them to be together than herself. She found it odd how supportive everyone was on this matter, even the boy persisted on being in love with her. It was very romantic, one might say.

She decided she could not find a reason _not_ to be with him, so she went along with it.

She still did not dream.

With time, she got used to reality. It bothered her that it’s been a year-or more-since the accident and she still could not tell what she was like before, but it became a mutual unsaid agreement to put it behind them and continue as if it never happened in the first place.

She didn’t know if she was glad or irritated by it.

One thing she was thankful for, was that nobody was pressuring her about college. She didn’t know what to do about it… but Phillip did. And their families found it a remarkable idea that they move to whatever city his family was moving to as well.

This, obviously, freaked out Aurora. Sure, they loved each other but wasn’t it a bit extreme? It wasn’t like they were engaged, for their families to have such close ties. A long chat with them led her to another decision though. They said they were going to suggest they move even before Phillip's college acceptance.

Perhaps a change of scenery would be good.

The place they would be moving to was going to be close to nature, with forests and lakes to take short trips to. Aurora was swayed by that statement. Plus, yes, she would not need to take a four hour trip to see her boyfriend and that was positive.

And she wasn't blind to how her social environment viewed her either, she didn't have friends she would miss too much. Most of the school regarded her like a sick person, her former friends distanced themselves. After weeks of packing what was significant, she laid on her bed.

That night, for the first time in eighteen years, she wasn’t so scared of falling asleep.

* * *

The house they chose to afford was wonderful, or Aurora thought so anyway. It didn’t even take half an hour to find yourself surrounded with trees, flowers and the chirping of birds.

And honestly, that was the most important bit for her. This here, for some reason, she felt like belonged to more than the walls filled with faces only recently familiar.

There was a lot of work to be done in the house, their furniture being delivered and all. Their neighbors were friendly enough, offering to guide them around town. The day was sunny, but not too hot, it was only the start of summer anyway.

There was something about this town, she didn’t know if it was just the fact that it was a new place, the nature, but it was almost like the air itself was comforting. She walked on the light pavement along with the others, as they took a look around with their neighbors.

It started with a chill down her spine. Her hairs stood on end through her plain t-shirt, and she furrowed her brows. Her parents were talking with the neighbors about something her ears weren’t focusing on.

She absentmindedly looked around, at her aunties who were arguing-over something silly undoubtedly-and left and right, feeling uneasy, but appearing to be the only one to do so.

Turning her head a little to the far left, her eyes caught a movement and she stopped walking, decidedly looking behind her.

Farther down the street, from the entrance of the post office, a person dressed in black was making their way to probably their car. Their stance was inexplicably elegant, as if they weren’t wearing pants and a blouse, but a gown. Aurora blinked, curiously interested in this figure.

Somehow, time seemed to slow down.

Wind blew slightly, a soft breeze, twirling her hair and chilling her skin once more. The figure stopped walking. Aurora’s breath quickened for a reason she did not know.

In a swift move and for a split second, the face of the person looked over the shoulder and turned in her direction, like her gaze was noisy. The black hair gave way to a pale face, but before she could grasp the characteristics of that face, it was concealed again.

It was not a small distance away. She could have sworn she saw a yellow gleam where the eyes should be but it was probably the sunlight getting in her line of sight…

Before, the person could vanish entirely; Aurora turned the woman who was their neighbor. “Excuse me,”

“-very useful-oh! Yes, sweetie, what is it?”

“Who is that?” Aurora turned to the direction of the person she saw but was now getting in their car on the other side of the street.

The woman was startled, Aurora turned back to her. “Oh. Well, frankly honey, I have no idea. No one does, I’d bet. She’s not very often hanging around town, I’d know I assure you, almost everyone around is a friend to me. I’d suggest to avoid her. From the people I’ve spoken to she is-uh,” She swallowed. “Well, let’s just say she is not very friendly.” An awkward laugh. “Right well, what were you saying, Stephen?”

Aurora looked back to the direction of the mystery woman but she was gone.

* * *

That night, Aurora had her first dream.

It was not much. Mostly darkness but there was a green light this time. Small and in texture like smoke.

It evaporated quickly though, before Aurora could follow it. And a dark chuckle echoed through the wall of a fireplace-what an odd thing to say-before a yellow gleam shone through it.

Aurora woke up with a start and turned on the light on the bedside cabinet straight away.

Oh perfect, that was all she needed now, to be afraid of the dark.

She placed her palm against her chest, heart kicking in her ribcage. The dream was eerie, inexplicable and she found herself more distressed the more she thought about it. She rose from her bed, grabbed a shawl and went out. 

The house had a lovely porch, she sat on the bench that was placed there and held tight to her shawl, looking out into the late hours of the night. The sky was at its darkest and she supposed this meant that dawn was due soon. 

A sudden “Awk!” from beside her made her hardly manage to keep her shriek. Once she realized it was a bird, she let out a breath and broke into a smile. 

“Hello,” She said quietly. The bird was black. “Are you a raven or a crow? Sadly I can’t tell a difference.” 

She slowly raised a hand to touch its feathers, absolutely expecting it to fly away from her in fright. The bird however, simply cawed again and took a step away, as if to say, _no thank you._

Aurora laughed lightly. “Alright then. Pardon me.” She smiled warmly. “You seem like a pretty smart bird.” 

She always seemed to try and talk to animals and she swore she could understand them. It did not escape her notice that it was an action deemed paranoid by most, that’s why she kept it to herself. 

The first streaks of light painted the sky and Aurora sighed. Slowly, the other birds would start to sing. And the sun would outshine the moon.

She gave the bird sitting on the railing a glance. “What do you say we go for a walk?”

”Awk! Awk!” 

Aurora laughed. “Alright, alright, I’ll go change into something better and we’ll go, deal?” 

A short, “Awk.” _Deal_ _._

When did losing her mind start? 

The better change was a washed out pink hoodie, sneakers and sweatpants. The early morning was a bit chilly and besides it didn’t get very warm until noon. 

She managed to get ready without waking anyone, which was a feat on its own, and as a last thought she left a note saying she’s gone for a walk. 

Knowing her family, they’d worry their heads off wondering where she went. 

To her surprise, the bird actually remained on the railing. It caught sight of her and immediately cawed and spread its wings. 

She grinned, “Let’s go, then.” 

* * *

Maleficent was perfectly _distraught._

How long has she been roaming this stupid land, waiting for this one thing to happen, that happened today like it was of no consequence! 

The royal family moved in town, like she expected they would. Like she planned for them to. Because really, was there ever a chance she wouldn’t involve herself in their drama again? 

No. They were goners the minute they agreed on her bargain, second chance but to be in debt to her forevermore. Of course she had to stay close. 

_Or those are the reasons you choose to wear like armor when you know the real one is hard to face._

”Silence!” She told herself. 

She had to think. Experience told her they are all imbeciles enough to not recognize her. Gone were the horns to terrify them, gone were the long cloaks but she did miss the effect. 

She also had gotten rid of the green tint to her skintone, something irritating about fitting in even though everyone was making a fuss about ‘people of color’. 

Fools. The old era was unconventional but this one is utterly foolish. 

Nevertheless, she carried on. The day would come when her efforts would prove to be fruitful. Just today, in the street, of all places, she came across everyone she was planning to find.

And that was including _her._

In all honesty, _she_ was all she could see or think of until she shook her head and told herself to stop being as idiotic as she accuses others of being. 

There was more to this mess of a life than pretty princesses and their dreamy smiles and longing to be one they’re directed at. 

_Ridiculous._

There we go, that sounded like herself. One question remains; did they remember? 

If Maleficent were to judge on her own circumstance, they did. For Maleficent had not forgotten a day of the life she led before. However, that could be a flawed judgment, seeing how she was the one that placed the spell that brought them here. 

There could be a chance she recalls simply because she was the culprit. One can never be too sure. 

One thing was certain; they are here and she needs to know exactly where. 

If there was one positive to this life, it was that Diablo was back. She had not expected it, but the second she laid eyes on the coat of black feathers she could tell it was him. And oh, the joy it was. 

The despair when she saw him petrified in her balcony pierced her like it was the Sword of Truth. In all the empty years she had spent, he had been her one source of solace and loyal companion. Taken away from her like that, by that poor excuse of a fairy called Merryweather. What an idiotic name!

It didn’t matter now though, their lives had become ruined and they would become again. She wasn’t sure how yet, but she would make sure they regretted their entire existence. Undoubtedly, they believed this new world was devoid of magic so she couldn’t do anything to them, or that even if she could, there was little chance they would encounter her.

They thought they could escape their debt unscathed, all of them.

The hatred she harbored for them could not be greater. But she had to start from somewhere.

Much like how she had ordered him all those years ago, “Find her, my pet.” And he flew from her fingers into the sky. 

He had not failed her then and he would not now.

Maleficent gazed at the tall dark trees in the late hour. Her house was hidden in the deep forest, old habits die hard. And in any case, she wouldn’t want to have to deal with the fake smiles and the empty ‘good day’s. She had enough of them whenever it was necessary for her to go out. Although, it seemed like the inhabitants got the idea to stay out of her way, it was still unpleasant to hear the greetings of the ignorant.

Though the pants and blouse had not been uncomfortable, she much a preferred her flowing dresses. With a wave of her hand she was back in her usual attire, black meshing with purple and the horns on her head.

It was boring here, peaceful but uneventful. Well, that was about to change soon.

Gardening magic proved to be more difficult than she expected. Something about evil fairies only being able to use magic to inflict pain, they’d tell you, surely. But if the blown blueberry could kill a creature, she sure as hell can make roses grow.

It’s what she focused on while she waited for her former enemies to come into town. And she knew they would because her spell ensured they would not be freed from her.

She trusted her power. It never betrayed her.

Sometimes she questioned her decision to grant their request. She needn’t, for now it was done and she had thought it through back then enough to act on it. The merits were heavier than the negatives, but were they for the right reasons?

Darkness fell over the forest like paint, it was impossible to see anything else, so her scepter shone its glow and guided her through it. The animals didn’t seem to be afraid of her here. They were more intrigued by the green glow, like moths attracted to flames.

Bats flew quickly overhead, and other noises were made by the insects and living things as she made her way to a clearing. She liked this spot. It offered balance for her mind, she often stood here and tapped into her magic. One thing that had been bothering her since the, oh, so great battle-which resembled more a show for a circus in her opinion- was the state of her shifting ability.

It was worrisome, that she might not be able to transform into her dragon form ever again. But no, that could not be the case, her dragon was badly wounded, but surely with time, it would be restored.

Otherwise, at least she brought the rest of her magic with her intact.

“Awk!” She spun her head around at the sound of her flying friend and extended her arm for him to sit on.

“Diablo? Back so soon, my pet?”

 _“Wait, where did you go?”_ Exclaimed a melodic voice from a distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves!  
> this is my first malora fanfic i was sad to find that there arent that many fics around so i made my own!  
> i started shipping this very much after a few fics and gave into my inspiration.  
> this is a very planned out story, i hope you stick around to see the end  
> and thank you immensely for reading!


	2. Something is Wrong, Everything Changed When the Birds Came

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from the song 'Prey' thought it matched

The blood in her veins ran a bit colder than it did already.

“Well, well, you never cease to impress me, my pet.” She murmured, stroking the beak of the crow with satisfaction in her eyes. “I asked for whereabouts and you brought her in the flesh.”

This would be the moment she had been waiting for, preparing for. She lifted her chin and turned to face the source of the melodic voice, knowing the identity of the speaker full well.

She registered briefly that the darkness had started folding around her. The green glow of the scepter would be useful only for a bit longer.

From the trees emerged a girl, dressed in the new fashions, with a wavy curtain of blond hair on her shoulders. Her step told every secret of her hesitant but strong curiosity. Upon seeing Maleficent’s figure, she froze.

Was that fear in her expression? Surprised horror?

“Am I still dreaming?” Her brows furrowed and she blinked multiple times. If Maleficent admitted that she had imagined many times how this would go, she would say no imagination was correct. But she would never admit it, of course.

At the princess’s shock, she spoke. “Do you frequently sleepwalk and find yourself in similar predicaments?” Her stern voice cut through the silence.

The girl’s mouth opened and she shook her head, looking aghast and slightly embarrassed. “I’m sorry- I, I don’t sleepwalk, no. It’s just you uh- look like you came out of-“ A nervous huff of laughter.

“A nightmare?” Maleficent provided.

The girl pressed her lips together and looked away, “That’s so rude of me, I am very sorry. But why do you dress that way?”

Maleficent was not phased. “Why do you think?” Her voice was flat.

The girl’s head lowered in shame and she stammered. “I-I suppose because you-you like the way it looks,” It was almost adorable. Disgusting. “I’m not usually this bad at meeting people, I swear…” She was fidgeting.

“It’s quite alright, little princess.”

The girl looked confused and stared. “Princess? Why would you call me that? I mean my-my family calls me that, but,”

Maleficent tried to not let dread cloud her eyes. “Then what would you have me call you?”

The girl swallowed. “My name is Aurora, who are you? We haven't met before, have we?”

 _Ah._ There it was. The answer to a lot of questions. _Our names and who we are are very different things._ She would not let any emotion show, but taking a deep breath was deemed necessary.

“My name is unknown to this town and I would prefer to keep it that way.” One could never be too careful. She took a step, the path back to her domain in mind. The girl walked closer and started faintly following her. A smirk tugged on her mouth.

“You’re the woman from the post office yesterday.”

So she held on to that.

“Perhaps with time, I shall tell it to you.”

With her back to the girl, she removed the glow of the scepter, as morning was catching up to them and they had no use of it anymore. She considered whether it was a bad idea to be seen by her like this and not in a less frightening attire, but an odd sense of nerve made her decide against it.

Let her see and then let’s see if she will stay. Like she once did.

“Are you planning on following me all the way to my residence?”

The girl was startled again. After a few seconds she heard, “You live close-by?”

Maleficent raised a brow and looked over her shoulder. “Do you?”

“Um, relatively, well, actually I do live close to the woods, yes. We just moved a few days ago.” The girl looked flushed, her cheeks with a hint of pink and her lips red, biting them as she were, jumping around her words, and the important piece of information momentarily went over Maleficent’s head.

Again! Right under her nose, again! Oh, they were hopeless, it was as if they were deliberately making this easy for her.

A beeping sound caught their ears and Aurora grabbed her phone from her pockets. “Oh, that’s um- my family. I should better go,” She took a step back. “I’ll see you around, I guess?”

“We’ll see.”

She sighed. Was the princess disappointed? “Right. Goodbye then, stranger.” The girl smiled and left.

“Goodbye, Aurora.” The name felt strange on her tongue. She wanted to shake the girl and tell her what her real name was. But alas, she could not do that.

Rose did not recall that was she was a princess with magical beauty and song, that she was cursed to sleep, that there was a prince who did not wake her and a fairy who kept her company.

Then, all Maleficent had to do, was remind her.

* * *

"Aurora!"

"Honey, where did you go so early?"

"Yes, dear, you never leave like that."

Aurora stared at her father, mother and aunt, with annoyance. "I just went for a walk, jeez." She pushed past them into the living area.

"But-but we've just moved into this area, so you should be careful, still, you understand, don’t you dear?” Fauna said.

She looked at her aunt with irritation. “Do you think, I’m ten years old?” Fauna stammered and Aurora sighed. “I know you all like to be protective with me, but I think it should be enough that I don’t live in my own house.”

This, apparently, made everyone speechless.

It was Aurora’s mother who talked first. “Did something happen, sweetie?” She asked and sat down on the couch next to her.

Aurora took a breath and looked at her mother. “No, I just had a bad dream and went to get some fresh air, alright?”

Suddenly, they all let out a breath and neared her. Her mother touched her arm and continued. “Do you want to get Dr. Flannigan on the phone, darling?” Her tone was compassionate.

“No, I’m fine. Besides, this is a good thing right? It means I’m starting to sleep more normally.”

They all nodded and smiled at her. “I would think so, dear.”

“Okay, then there’s nothing to worry about. What are we doing today?” She changed the topic.

In fact, Aurora had a few stuff to worry about. Like why she felt like she knew the lady in the forest, why she dreamed the green glow her walking stick made. Was it a coincidence?

In the two years she’s spent with this family, she still struggles to feel like her parents aren’t strangers sometimes. And yet, this woman feels oddly familiar at first sight. But if Aurora was being honest, she was terrifying.

With one look, she might have been the closest to a demon she has seen a person be. With a second, she might be the proof that demons are alluring. Her voice was hard like stone, but graceful, as was her posture. She spoke with a formality she has not heard anyone speak, her words left you stammering and her gaze compelled you.

Truly, she did not seem like she belonged in this world.

Aurora felt like she found something special in the forest that would soon join her list of secrets.

* * *

They were practically finished with the house and Aurora often took strolls around nature. To her disappointment, she did not encounter the woman again, but the bird from that night, she saw more than once. And others like it.

She dreamed again. But they were good dreams. 

Fields of flowers, squirrels and rabbits and birds. She even dreamed that she danced some kind of waltz with Phillip. It was funny to her, she had never danced with her boyfriend, in any way other than the type of dance you do at the bar or clubs. 

But oh boy, was he thrilled to hear about it. She laughed at his reaction but some part of her found it off, somewhat. 

Phillip was very romantic, very sweet, but he was sort of too much, you know? It always seemed like he was fives pages after her, so eager and willing to be there. 

She didn’t want to think about it, she didn’t want to be ungrateful. He loved her, he was nice to her. Why did she have to ruin it?

But in hours where she’d lay awake with her sleep anxiety, she’d think that he was just like her family. Another person who stood like a rock of pressure on her chest, another person who loved her and so she had to be good to them. 

He had a crush on her since the first year. He was such a good boy, her family would remark. All the damn time. 

And he was, but was it enough? 

Aurora loved him, but her level of love grazed the surface of the meaning of the word, while Phillip’s was so loud that she almost expected to a hear a proposal. 

Whenever she had those thoughts, she would feel bad about herself. Here are all these people that do nothing but love her and treat her well, and yet she feels like she doesn’t want it. 

How messed up did that car accident make her? 

It wasn’t the car accident, a voice inside her wanted to tell her. She has always been this way and always would be.

She moved close to where her boyfriend was going for college and the times she had seen him were two. They’ve been there three weeks now. She kept using the excuse that they’re busy with fixing the house and at the offer of her visiting, she kept saying that she needs to help her family unpack.

Time’s up, she’s ran out of excuses.

It seemed that the matter was so upsetting to think about that she was stumbling absentmindedly around the forest and was now in another territory. Her feet always knew where to carry her to find the way back, but she knew not to go too far in case she lost that advantage. 

She walked further, unable to reign in her curiosity and wanderlust. Something in the air was cold, even though it was a warm day for the most part. 

Thorns. Branches of bare thorns on the ground.

That was alarming, she looked around but could not see much. Over an amount of distance she thought she could make out a black outline of a house. There was fog surrounding the place, and where she was, that wasn’t there before. 

Her heart rate quickened, what would she do if she couldn’t find the way back? At least she had her phone with her, so she could call, but if- 

“What are you doing here, princess?” 

Aurora let out a yelp at the sound of another voice close to her and turned to see the woman she had been hoping to meet. 

”You scared me.” She said with a nervous laugh and a hand in the middle of her chest.

“Did I, now.” 

This time she didn’t have horns, but ink spilling to her shoulders. Her dress was black like before, but wrapping around her arms like smoke instead of dragging down like water. And her skin was so deathly pale, like the oldest porcelain.

Aurora cleared her throat and swallowed. “I was taking a walk like I usually do and I suppose my thoughts got the better of me and I got a bit lost.” The woman’s gaze was unwavering and Aurora felt small under it. “Uh, do you live here?” 

“I do.” The woman seemed to consider something. Aurora felt a small relief that she was here, it meant she could guide her to leave and find the way back. “Come.” 

But she wasn’t going back, not yet anyway. Following the woman led closer to the house, and Aurora realized that following her meant she was probably going to visit it. 

A feeling of exhilaration grabbed her by the throat. What if this woman was a serial killer? Dangerous? She would be going to her house and she was completely unprotected. Maybe this is why no one around knows her by the name, she doesn’t want to be found out and caught. 

Would she rather she stayed out there though? With the fog and the unrecognizable trees? 

Her thoughts had made her stop walking. The woman turned to her. “If you are contemplating the possibility of going unarmed in the house of a stranger who could very well harm you, you are quite right to do so. Luckily for you, I merely want to show you something.” 

Aurora let out a breath. “Oh, that’s- good.” The woman raised her brow. “You’ll help me find my way after that?” 

“Of course, Aurora.” She resumed her walk. 

It crossed her mind then, that the woman had called her princess before. 

“Your Majesties, you don’t think this is concerning?” Flora asked.

Leah and Stephen looked at her. “I don’t see why it should be.” He said.

Aurora was out of the house once more. Their daughter never wandered around as much as she was since they arrived in this new town. But, although that was something concerning on its own, there was another matter at hand.

The good fairies, or the women that used to be good fairies, as their power now was drained, were concerned about the dreams she was having. “With all due respect, your Highness, what if she realizes they aren’t just dreams?”

“You mean, if she dreams of before?” Leah prompted.

“Why yes, she is already, don’t you know?” Flora looked amongst her sisters. “She told me yesterday she dreamed she was dancing with the prince in the forest.”

“Oh, Flora,” The Queen laughed. “It could have been just a dream, you know. And if it was indeed a memory from the other life…it is good news.”

The fairies weren’t convinced. Queen Leah was probably thinking that remembering the other life would mean she remembers all the years she didn’t in this one. “Yes, your Majesty, but are we going to explain it to her?”

Stephen threw a strict look at Fauna. “We agreed to let the past go with her. The whole meaning of this is so we can live quietly and peacefully this time without any wicked spells plaguing us. Besides, if she realizes it’s true, she doesn’t know what happened after she fell asleep. And we’ll keep it that way.”

The fairies bowed their heads. “As you wish, your Highness.”

“You have not forgotten what we have decided to tell her if she asks, have you?”

They shook their heads. Surely, none of them liked lying to Aurora. But it has always been for her own protection, she would understand that.

Roses. 

Bushes of roses of all kinds of colors, red, white, pink, purple. That’s what she wanted to show her. It was a garden of roses just behind her house. Aurora was enchanted.

She walked towards a red bush. “They’re so beautiful! Did you grow them yourself?” Her finger touched a red petal. She supposed the mysterious lady did in fact grow them, seeing how there weren’t any other rose bushes anywhere in the forest.

“Would you like a rose?” Said the tall figure with a hypnotizing voice looming behind her.

_Rose._

Like something pulled from the deepest slumber, a golden thread in a chaos of wheat, a light bulb crackling open. _Rose._

_Lips that shame the red, red rose_

_“My name is Briar Rose.”_

A gasp. “What did you say?” She turned to the woman abruptly with wide eyes.

The woman’s expression was the same as before, but maybe, just maybe, in those dark eyes she could detect a hint of… fascination? Satisfaction? Excitement? 

“I questioned whether or not you desire to acquire one of the flowers.”

“Oh,” She pressed her hand to her cool forehead, feeling a tad dizzy. “I’d love to, yes. They’re lovely.” It must be the stress of the last few days, the first seeds of a headache taking place.

The woman took hold of the red rosebud Aurora had been caressing. It hadn’t bloomed fully yet and Aurora felt a little sad that she would be putting an end to its life so young simply because she found it pretty. “Maybe I shouldn’t, it’s still not bloomed, isn’t it too young to die?”

The woman stopped, tilted her head and looked at her quizzically with the ghost an amused smile on her dark lips. “My, that’s absurd. Worry not, another will take its place soon.” She cut the rose, with a tool Aurora hadn’t seen lying anywhere before. “Pretty things are to be claimed, are they not?”

Holding out the rose to Aurora, her gaze never left her. Her eyes were so dark, coals in a cold night for a fireplace, a dangerous heat.

A fireplace.

Aurora blinked as if breaking out of a trance and took a breath. “Maybe,” She smiled politely and reached for the rose.

“Careful there,” Aurora’s hand froze. “Wouldn’t want you pricking your little fingers, now would we?” A delighted smirk adorned the corner of her lips. The meaning of it lost to Aurora.

Her fingers gently touched the base of the flower, looking for the thorns to avoid. The knuckles bumped lightly into the ones of the woman. They were cold. She averted her eyes. “Thank you.” She managed and held the rose close to her.

The woman took a step back. Aurora suddenly felt a sense of bravery and wanted to speak up. She probably should go back, considering how she was starting to have a headache, but she wanted to keep talking.

She popped in front of her, halting her steps. “Are you sure we haven’t met before?” The woman slightly titled her head and regarded her with something akin to interest but she did not stop walking, which made Aurora start walking backwards. “I could swear I know you from somewhere. But I’ve been having trouble remembering people the last few years.”

“Really? And why is that?”

“Well…” She considered her words and continued. “When I turned sixteen I had an accident.” The woman stopped, so Aurora looked up and stopped too. “I had a brain injury and they said it was post-traumatic amnesia.” Was it pity in the woman’s eyes? No, was it anger? “It was supposed to be temporary… but I don’t know.”

The black-haired pale stranger tried to come closer, like she wanted to reach out somehow, but didn’t know how. “I am sorry to hear it. May I ask how?” Her voice was grave, serious. Aurora thought that maybe, it was the most heartfelt those words have sounded coming out of anyone’s mouth.

She put on a small, sad smile. “Car crash. They shouldn’t have let her drive, Aunt Mary, I mean.” She chuckled.

But the woman was far from laughing. Her eyes were oozing fury and her face muscles almost trembled. Aurora didn’t know what to make of that reaction, so she nervously stayed quiet. Just as she was about to mention going back, the familiar bird flew in their direction and sat upon the woman’s stick. “Awk.”

“Is he yours?”

The stranger, that Aurora felt wasn’t, blinked at her, like she only just realized she was there. She clicked her tongue. “He has been a trustworthy and loyal companion.”

Aurora nodded. “Sometimes I think animals are far easier to understand and deal with.”

“I agree.” She drawled out and caressed the bird’s feathers with her free hand, her expression still unreadable.

“Do you need that to walk?” She pointed to the stick in her grasp.

This actually earned Aurora a deep chuckle that sent a thrill to her heart. It was a different expression for the mysterious woman and it looked charming on her. "Of course not. Do you take me for a helpless old woman?" She said incredulously.

Aurora felt a little embarrassed. "No," The question of what the actual purpose of the stick was ate at her, but less than the question she decided to ask. "How old are you?"

"Have you not heard that it is improper to question a woman's age?" Her tone was a little playful, amusement evident. Aurora craved an answer, though.

"So, you won't tell me?"

She pursed her lips. "Guess." 

"I'm not good at guessing." She said impatiently.

She was not phased. "Humor me." She started towards a direction and Aurora followed suit, sighing. 

Aurora didn't want to offend her, or to appear silly to her. She played with her fingers. "Around twenty-five to thirty?" Silence. Then, uncontrollable laughter. The woman's cackle was not sweet, but it tugged on Aurora's own lips to break into a grin. "What?"

The woman stopped cackling but a maniacal grin was still formed. "That was very flattering of you, little girl."

But now Aurora was annoyed. "I'm not a little girl, I'm eighteen! How much older than that could you possibly be anyway?"

This made the woman's curl of lips start to evaporate. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Why?" She searched the other's eyes. 

The elegant woman, whose name she still didn't know, lifted her chin. "There's much you don't know, little princess. But I trust you know how to go home from here." She turned to leave.

_"But that's impossible! How could I marry a prince, I'd have to be..."_

_"A princess."_

Breath caught in her throat, "Will you tell me? Next time I see you? About these things I don't know?"

"Perhaps."

And in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

* * *

Princess Aurora came back to the house with a dazed look in her eyes. And a rose in her hand. 

"Oh, hello dear." Flora greeted her when she came in. Aurora simply looked at her for a few seconds and mumbled a greeting. Flora looked to Merryweather with concern. She put a smile back. "Where were you, dear?" She asked, her voice masked with cheer.

"Did you see Phillip? Is that rose from him?" Merryweather asked with a smile of her own looking to see if it had thorns. 

The princess furrowed her brows and looked, one would say, confused. "No." She said it like the mere suggestion of it was offensive. 

"Oh." Merryweather swallowed and they followed her to the kitchen, where Fauna was as well. 

"Oh my! Wherever did you find such a pretty rose, Aurora?"

_Rose!_

_Rosie!_

She swallowed. "The forest."

"Truly? Oh, it looks so well taken care of, though! As if it came from a special garden." Fauna said happily.

The princess put the rose down on the counter and opened the cabinets. "Do we have some sort of vase? To put it in." Flora nodded and gave it to her. 

Princess Aurora was filling the vase with water from the sink as the good fairies looked at each other. They thought there was something tense in the atmosphere. Merryweather went to grab the rose for Aurora. "I can do that for you-"

"Why?" Aurora asked loudly, suddenly.

"W-well, so you don't prick your pretty little fingers, of course." She said with a grin too fake for anyone to buy.

"So what? So what if I prick my finger, what could happen?" The princess pushed. 

Merryweather was too taken aback to respond, Flora went to Aurora's side instead and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Nothing, dear. We're only looking out for you."

The princess closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. "I'm sorry. I think I have a headache." Flora led her to a chair. 

"Oh, let me bring you a pill and some water, dear, is that alright?" Fauna offered. The princess said yes and thanked her, her face covered by her hands.

After she consumed the pill and the water, she looked with tired eyes at her aunts. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Of course, dear!"

"Anything!"

The princess looked at her palms. "Did I ever-I mean, did mom or dad or you, ever call me something other than Aurora?"

The three of them collectively froze and looked at one another. Fauna took the initiative. "Whatever do you mean, dear? Of course not." Her smile was shaking, as were the others.

Princess Aurora looked sad. "I see." She stood.

"Where are you going?" Merryweather asked.

"I'm meeting with Phillip. I don't know when I'll be back." And she was out of the door in seconds. 

They couldn't help but think that this was a failure! "Oh goodness gracious, what are we going to do?"

"I knew she would start remembering. What if she knows we're lying to her?" 

"Now, now, Merryweather. There's no way she knows that. Besides you heard the King and Queen. We are to tell her nothing unless absolutely necessary." Flora said.

"And what if it's too late then?" 

"For goodness's sake, stop saying such things!"

"You know she must be somewhere. Their Majesties think they've outwitted her..."

"Fauna if you're talking about what I think you're talking about, stop it this second!" Flora yelled at her sister. "They know what they're doing. Like they said, a life without such things to think about. We're all absolutely safe."

The other two sighed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof there was a lot i wanted to cover in this chapter! we're getting to such exciting things i'm on the edge of my seat i swear  
> comments are highly appreciated! tell me what you think!


	3. I Got Everything I Wanted, It Was a Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from 'everything i wanted'

"Hey,"

She hadn't dressed particularly nice for the occasion, it's been a while since she dressed up for Phillip. Briar Rose was waiting for the pill to take effect, as the sign of the headache was there still and was hoping seeing Phillip would actually be taking things she didn't understand off her mind. Funny how she was wary and not looking forward to this earlier.

Phillip is really handsome, in a casual way. Brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin and a perfect smile, with straight teeth and no flaw in sight. He grins, takes Aurora into his arms and kisses her, too perfect. "I missed you, my love."

Yes, once he opens his mouth, that's when things go wrong. Aurora tried not to let her distaste for the endearment to show on her face. "You said we're going to a restaurant?"

"We are, I wanted us to have our privacy and spend a romantic evening together without interruptions." He reached for her hand, kissed her knuckles. God, she hated it when he did that. "Don't you, love?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." She smiled at him and they made their to the dinner date. A distraction was welcome; she needed one. 

The restaurant was probably one of the nicer ones in the area. She sometimes wondered if that's the reason why her family is so keen on Phillip. His family was not by any means poor, in fact, they lived quite a comfortable life. It wasn't like her own family didn't as well, but maybe knowing how she didn't have very approving ambitions they expected that if she ended up with him in the long run, she would be at ease regarding money.

Dear Lord, not these thoughts again, they were together for one year! If her family was indeed thinking this way, they were nuts. They were just a couple, her first boyfriend, they were just in a relationship, that's it. Simple. 

Phillip had made a reservation. So they were guided to heir table by a well-mannered waitress. He pulled out the chair for her, she put a smile on display. "So are you finished with the renovations?" He attempted to start a conversation.

She nodded. "Yeah, took some time but um, yes."

A big grin. "I'm glad, it's not like we haven't been busy either, but now I'll finally be able to spend more time with you." He touched her hand from across the table. It briefly crossed her mind that by the end of the night her cheeks would hurt from all the plastered smiles.

They ordered, they talked some more. He asked her if she liked the town. "Yes, so much, it's really nice." She replied with honesty.

He chuckled. "Oh, Aurora, you're so sweet. Wait till you see the downtown in the city. It's full of life and tall buildings, not boring like this." A sound left his throat as if he just had a good idea. "I'll take you, someday, what do you say?"

Oh, surely the city was great but what she loved about the town was how far it was from it. She loved the freedom that enveloped the space around her, the exploration. Apparently, Phillip did not share the sentiment. "Sure, why not."

Their dishes came, and she found that she had a large appetite. She dove into her meal straight away, her savior from conversation. 

"Have you thought about studying?" She chewed slower. "You know, in the future." His eyes were expectant, eager.

She swallowed her bite. "Uh, haven't had the time, really. And I've told you-"

He nodded and cut her off. "Yes, yes, I know. A singing career would be out of the question and you aren't well-equipped to be a vet." He sighed. 

Well-equipped. Well, that's one way to put her bad grades in the corresponding subjects. She frowned. 

"Did you ever think about trying modeling?" 

She looked at him, flabbergasted, with her jaw hanging. 

"Don't look at me like that, I know how it might sound at first, but you're so beautiful, you'd definitely make it." 

She couldn't believe he was actually being serious. "Excuse me, I don't want to starve myself to a toothpick and I'm not vain enough to-" She breathed in. "Do any of it."

Phillip laughed. "You say it like it's a bad thing," She stared. "It's whatever it doesn't matter anyway. I knew you wouldn't like it, you're too humble. I love it about you." He smiled.

"Do you," The one they called Aurora mumbled, as she dragged her fork around the food, feeling weird about the situation and the plate in front of her. He didn't hear her, they finished the meal, later a waitress cleared it.

But it didn't seem like they were done talking. She had a bad feeling. "Aurora, actually, I've been thinking," He looked like he was gathering courage to speak his next words. "I know this might be sudden for you, but at the same time I feel like it shouldn't."

The blonde furrowed her brows, "What are you talking about?"

"Marriage."

There it was. One word.

Her breath stopped. She blinked once, unable to form words or another reaction. Eventually she opened her mouth. "What?"

"Come on, I mean, I know we're young. But we're adults, we can take serious decisions." At her growing mortification, he continued desperately. "I'm not saying it should be now. I just think we should consider it. You know, for...later." 

He was still looking at her like she might agree. "Phillip this is insane."

"Why?!"

"We've been in a relationship for a year. One!" She exclaimed.

But he huffed a laughter. "What does that matter? We're in love and we love each so much that the time we've spent has no significance. Not when I know you're the girl I want to marry one day."

Maybe he was right. When you know you've met the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, there's no questioning the social cues or if the rest of the world would approve of that. You don't care if you're getting married tomorrow or in five years because you know you won't regret it.

When you've met your once in a lifetime, there's no doubt about it. And Aurora had many doubts, not only about Phillip, but also about herself.

Her eyes saddened, her mouth closed. She tried hard to think of what to say, she knew Phillip was expecting an answer. "Why do you like me?"

And this was the last thing Phillip expected. "What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one. I'm trying to understand why why you love me." She swallowed.

Phillip's mouth opened and closed a couple of times. He looked exasperated but then he shook his head and smiled again. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. The woman of my dreams. "

He must have thought this was reassuring. It wasn't. It was actually the opposite. Phillip loved her because she was pretty? He wanted to marry her in the future because of such an unimportant reason? 

The woman of his dreams. What did that even mean? He dreamed of being with the most beautiful woman-in his own eyes? 

So if she didn't look the way she did, he never would have spared a look at her. What did he think she was? A prize, an item to showcase? A doll to brag about having? Was his idea of love truly so warped and shallow, defined by the aesthetic beauty one possessed and nothing else? 

That beauty faded, true beauty, Briar Rose thought, was in the heart, in the soul. And that one-that one lasted. So when one turns gray and old and they don't find it hard to love the other. She isn't sure that Phillip would be one of those people, actually she's positive he won't be.

And that's not to say he won't find someone with the same deluded idea of love as his, but...it just wouldn't be her.

Because he may be symmetrically perfect and wealthy, but those are hollow things. In other words, not what she wanted and not the guy she'd want to marry at all. 

Maybe one day she'd look back on this and scream at herself. But until then..."Phillip, I don't think I want to marry you." She was sure he was about to say something to change her mind, so she added, "Not now, not tomorrow, not in the near future and I'm sorry, I think our families made us drag this too far."

"What are you saying?! We're meant to be! Look, I can understand not wanting to marry yet, this is a new age, after all, but you and I, we're soulmates!"

"What? What the hell are _you_ saying?"

"Will you and your family ever stop playing dumb?" 

Briar Rose stood from the chair. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm not marrying anyone anytime soon and you'd better not look for me." She stepped towards the exit. She put down the requested amount for her meal. "And just so you know, I don't need your money." She said to his shocked face.

He called after her. "Aurora!"

She ran against the night air, tears pricking her eyes from the moment she left the space. No strong pretense to put up, no control needed. 

_"I promised to meet him."_

_"I'm sorry, child, but you must never see that young man again."_

"Fine." She wiped her cheeks. She pressed a couple of buttons on her phone and sniffled in the summer breeze. A taxi was needed, as she had come in Phillip's car. Knowing how her parents would bomb her with questions and shrieks, she didn't want to ask for them. 

It seems there truly are many things she didn't know. 

* * *

The ride in the taxi was quiet. Her mind was running around words and voices she's never heard, but certainly has.

Is this what it feels like, recalling stolen moments? Is this what's been missing from her brain all this time?

No, this is something different. Maybe they weren't memories, maybe this is a symptom accompanying her amnesia. She knew with how much it has taken for any sort of past memory to return, it wasn't simply post-traumatic. For it to be retrogade amnesia, she had to have a disease or disorder. 

But was Phillip’s creepy breakdown unrelated? It couldn't have been. 

She didn't understand. It was all so jumbled, nothing made sense. There were things she wasn't being told. And since she came here, she started to realize it. 

Her aunts had lied to her earlier today. She knew not because she was sure that her name was not Aurora, because they looked astonished and scared. Because she could tell from how they shook that they were lying. 

She wished she had a friend to talk about all this with, that wouldn't run for the hills. 

Her house came into view and she was not ready to face them. A den of liars. Will you stop playing dumb, Phillip had asked. To what? 

A man who loved her and thought they were made for each other told her she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Any other girl would be at least a little bit happy, scandalized, but happy. She was heartbroken.

Not even Phillip made sense anymore. But maybe he stopped making a while ago. 

And he wasn't all bad, at first he had been warm and not too excessive. He had been gentle and supportive, he had been intimate in a way other than physically. But they do say that only in time you see the true colors of someone. And the evening she just had, was the most transparent painting. 

She went inside and said "Please, not now." to the older women waiting for her. 

Laying down on her bed, she saw that one of them had placed the vase with the rose on her bedside cabinet. Briar Rose stared at the ceiling, feeling detached from the world around her. She didn't have the energy to even change her clothes, laying on her side, eyes glued to the red rose.

Sleep took her like a consoling hug, like it promised it would take care of her and she needn't fear, this time.

Rose let it.

_What tells apart dreams from reality? She always had a habit of connecting the two, so she wasn't sure she would know what to tell you._

_"Yes, it's only in my dreams. But if you dream a thing more than once, It's sure to come true. And I've seen him so many times!"_

_You see, when you grow in a lonely cottage with only your aunts, three old women, for company, you learn to rely on dreams. When you have no friends, you learn to make them in your head and see them in any living being around you._

_Rose's dreams were half of her reality. At least there, she could conjure up new things and had so many options. They were far more exciting than any day she could remember. Had she been preparing for the long nap she would take? Of course not, but fate likes to poke fun._

_The girl dreamed that she could have met her parents, of travelling to many places, seeing magical creatures, wearing fancy clothes. The girl dreamed that a handsome man, for it was always princes that made women drool in storybooks, would stumble upon this forest as well and fall for her immediately._

_Of course she would too, after all, he'd be the first man she'd ever laid eyes on._

_"But don't you remember? We've met before!"_

_"We, we have?"_

_"Of course, You said so yourself: Once upon a dream!"_

_And what were the chances that the prince also dreamed of pretty ladies? High. As much pretty princes were known for their bravery and good looks, they were for their ego. Their status gave them a sort of confidence that they could have any woman they set eyes on._

_How many ladies had Prince Phillip been with before? How many women worked as his own rebellion against settling with one he couldn't win over because she was simply given? They said men enjoyed the chase._

_And despite their betrothal, Aurora proved to be the hardest chase._

_Was it love? It was not. Neither was it true. Kissing her meant saving her? The highest stroke to his ego, lovely. He would not only be a King, but a hero and in a sense, always someone they'd be indebted to._

_And for her, you ask? Apart from how he was the first face she saw apart from family, making her have a default reaction, she didn't even have a clue she was ever in danger. Who bothered to tell her? Her protectors?_

_"This one last gift, dear child for thee, the symbol of thy royalty.  
A crown to wear in grace and beauty, as is thy right, and royal duty."_

_Her aunts weren't her aunts, they were magical fairies. Her parents weren't dead, they were a King and Queen and they were alive. She wasn't a simple isolated peasant girl, she was a princess. Her name wasn't Briar Rose, it was Aurora. Her clothes were to be of the finest fabrics from now on. And she'd live in the castle, no more forests and cottages._

_It really was a magnificent way to twist someone's dreams and make them a nightmare._

_Because now it seemed like she saw the storybooks in a new way. Being a princess didn't mean she'd be happy forever, satisfied with pretty clothes and a husband she didn't decide._

_Maybe that's why their clothes and jewels are so shiny. They don't have anything else to bring them happiness._

_She'd have to bear children for that husband she didn't decide, she'd have to respond to a name she barely knew and love parents she didn't know at all. She'd have to be taught etiquette, languages, the rest of nobility. And she'd better do it quickly, because soon she'd have other things to do. The babies, for instance._

_All in all, she'd have to wipe the person she's been for sixteen years from the face of the Earth and slide into a cage._

_No more singing to little birds and squirrels and owls. No more dancing in the ponds with her skirts in her fists. No more Briar Rose._

_The golden crown on her hair solidified all her fears. Seeing it on her head made her weep. Because no, she wasn't ready to let herself go and become someone else. She couldn't._

_The green light was comforting. After all, what could be worse than a living nightmare?_

_The light said her name, her true name. It promised relief and salvation. She knew that if she followed this green orb, she would feel better._

_She stood, paying no mind to the cape falling on the floor. The orb opened a wall in the fireplace. This way, pretty princess._

_Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wanted to defy the voice and say she wasn't a princess. But that would be a lie, wouldn't it?_

_Entranced, but she was curious, where did this orb want to take her? Anywhere but here, she'd wish._

_She dragged her feet to the staircase that appeared in front of her. Which only led to another staircase. It'll be over soon, the green light told her. She breathed in and climbed up the stairs._

_At the top, there was a room without a door. Rose followed the green light inside and saw it take the shape of a spinning wheel. She hadn't seen such a thing before and was momentarily confused._

_Then, with the way the spindle shone, it dawned on her. All the protectiveness, all the drapes closing, the rule of no meeting strangers, never letting her learn how to knit, it was all for this._

_"Touch the spindle."_

_The voice was sinister, commanding. And though she was only a babe when it happened, the magic was timeless, spells rang in her ears. She realized if she did touch the spindle, she'd sleep as corpses do._

_"Touch it, I say!"_

_Rose knew she'd have to do whatever it told her and even if she wasn't being hypnotized by her curse, she'd choose this. Her left hand rose, her forefinger nearing the sharp edge._

_"Don't let them wake me." Were the last words that left her mouth, as her finger bled._

_The sudden force of slumber was too intense for her to bear, making her eyes hazy. She could make out the shadow of someone before she fell in a heap on the floor, crown bouncing off._

Rose woke, and tears spilled into her pillow.

She knew it all to be true.

It wasn't just dreams upon dreams. These were real memories. But from more than two years ago. They were from a whole other lifetime. 

Rose couldn't understand how that was possible. How were they all here? How did all this happen? What happened after she fell into the deathly sleep?

She put her weight on her elbows and sat upright. To her right, was the red rosebud.

The name was still unknown to her, but the woman would give her the answers she sought. At least, she hoped so. She knew if she asked her family they would probably lie to her again...

A den of liars, indeed.

Rose didn't know how she'd react when she saw them, her mood was a ticking bomb right now, astounded by the past revealed to her.

She changed into some other clothes mechanically, her mind still somewhere else. Opening the door required strength and with a deep breath, she did it. She walked to the kitchen with a solemn face. They'd all be awake.

"Good morning, dear." "Good morning," "Good morning."

Rose looked at their big smiles unphased. "Is it?" She opened the fridge and took out a bottle of juice, grabbed a glass and filled it. The windows were open, it was even warmer today, and nobody saw the black bird sitting right outside.

"What happened yesterday night, darling? Your aunts said you looked absolutely wrecked." Her mother said from the living room. 

Rose downed the glass in one go and put it down, making a noise. Slowly, she turned around. A pause. Then, "Phillip told me he wants to marry me." 

Exclaims all around, her mother stood from her armchair with a hand across her mouth, her aunts with grins and similar gestures. "That's incredible, but isn't it a bit early, sweetie?" 

She huffed. "A bit? You think?" 

Leah laughed. "A lot! But I can't blame him, after all, you're such a beauty. Any man would fall head over heels for you." 

She smiled coldly. "Yes, I guess I have Flora to thank for that." It was like she sliced the cheer with a knife. "And of course you'd want me to marry him." She took a step forwards. "Tell me, is it because he has money and to your eyes I'm a useless child or because after all this time you still wanted to keep your end of the deal?"

"Aurora, what are you talking about?" Her father's voice, firmer than she's ever heard it. 

She laughed and looked around, to each of their faces. "Aurora, huh? Who is she? Aunt Merryweather, do you know?" 

The short, plump woman looked stricken, her real name now known. They had changed it because it sounded too uncommon. "You're Aurora, you're my daughter." Her mother grabbed her hands. 

"No, no, no. You sent me away and you think I'll just accept that name and be what," Her breaths were heavy. "thankful?!" The words leaving her mouth were like burdens being lifted off. 

"Did Phillip tell you this?" Stephen asked.

"That's all you care about?! Who told me?" Her expression was devastated. "Why did you lie to me?" She asked quietly.

"Honey, you just had a really bad dream-"

"No!" She yelled. "You can't do that, you don't have the right! You can't picture me to be this crazy person when I finally understand something. Jesus, will you be honest for once and tell me, why? Why did you lie?"

"Any lie we may have said was because we love you!"

She shook her head, disappointed. "People who love you don't lie to you." Her tears fell. She walked across the room to the door.

"We love you more than anything! Everything we've done has been to protect you!"

She opened the door and looked at them. "And look where that got you." Her voice was icy. Outside, the black bird looked at her knowingly. "Take me to her."

Rose went down the steps of the porch as her family rushed behind her. "Aurora, please, this isn't you!"

 _"_ Yeah, no shit." She murmured under her breath.

Screams. "Rose! stay away from that god-forsaken bird!" Merryweather shrieked but Rose wasn't listening.

The surroundings became blurry and morphed into others. As the new ones became clear, the dizziness of being transported somewhere else magically made her knees weak and she placed her hands against the coarse ground. The bird cawed and flew over the roof.

An imposing house stood tall in front of her, with dark columns and walls, menacing in its own right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and from the den of liars we step into the den of satan!! Amen!  
> next chapter is gonna be a rollercoaster oop


	4. What a Wicked Thing to Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from the iconic ‘wicked game’

Rose heaved and stood from the ground, rubbed the dirt from her hands.

The house resembled those in scary movies, those that have ghosts inside and haunt the good-natured ignorant. Maybe Rose was one of them. 

She willed her feet to move, she had come here to demand answers, not to cower at the door. Shaking her curls away from her face, she marched to the woman's domain. Just a she was about to knock on the grand door, it opened out of its own accord, with a creak. 

Shivers ran down her naked arms, as no one stood on the other side. Rose swallowed and dared to place her feet inside. There was a hallway on one side, leading to an open room with windows. On the other side, there was a spiral staircase and archways to rooms.

It was dark, only the sunlight from behind her and the unmasked windows gave anything to lead her on. The name of the woman-that Rose only guessed the identity of-was not known to her, even if her suspicions were true, so she couldn't call out her name.

And if they were, she had good reason to be afraid as she was. "Hello?" It was meek and annoyed the silence around her.

There was no response. If she walked further inside, if she checked the rooms one by one, wouldn't it be rude? She didn't want to snoop around and chance upsetting the resident. 

But how was she to communicate with her if she couldn't find her? Was she not home? 

Rose made her way down the hall, with slow steps, turning repeatedly her eyes looking for the trace of a black dress and a walking stick. It was not one, she knew, but until she knew the proper word for it, she'd go with that. She heard a bang, it was the front door shutting closed, on its own.

The room seemed to be a library. Bookcases stood proudly to the ceiling, filled with titles probably foreign and unheard to her. There was an armchair in angle towards the view of the gardens, a desk with materials and papers, but no cloaked woman. 

Rose thought that since she entered this room, she could give the books a look. 

Reading wasn't her favorite pastime, in fact she had only read a handful of books in her old cottage. They were simply written, cookbooks or simple childish stories, and besides she didn't have a large vocabulary to read more complicated things like poetry or classic literature. She didn't know if she read any books before the accident, but she hadn't in the two years that passed.

Most of the books were leather-bound. A title stroke her as interesting and she made to grab it, but then her hand stopped midway, thinking that snooping is exactly what this is. "Help yourself."

She gasped sharply and turned around, taken by surprise. "Can you not creep around me like that?" She let out, calming herself. 

The woman raised her brow. "It is my house, I will do as I please." Sharp voice, exuding self-assurance and elegance. "And anywhere else, for that matter."

She lowered her gaze, "Right." The sophisticated figure was dressed in the darkest purple, her ebony hair behind her shoulders. Nothing was ever out of place. There was a pause, as Rose didn't know how to begin.

"I don't suppose you are incapable of telling me why you are here."

Rose nodded. "I would like um, to talk. You had said there are things I don't know, I think I understand it better now."

The woman tilted her head and didn't look convinced. She pointed to the chair by the window. Rose followed the instruction and sat down. An identical one appeared across from her, in which the other woman sat upon, her stick carefully put on the carpet under the chair.

The dark eyes were piercing. "What is on your mind, Aurora?" 

"Rose. I'm not Aurora, I'm Briar Rose." She corrected.

 _"My name is Briar Rose."_ Where had she said that before?

The corner of her lip had the slightest sign of a curl. "Well, that is quite something."

Briar Rose swallowed. "You already know, don't you?" The person opposite her did nothing but blink slowly, like it was a given. "Who are you?"

At that, the raven-haired spoke with mockery laced in her voice. "My, I would've thought it easy to understand."

The blonde's eyes filled with dread. "You're the one that cursed me?"

The green light, the green glow in the forest, the tone of voice. She figured the woman played a role in the life of before, but she was never told the specifics of the spell done on her, neither the name of the one that did it nor what they looked like.

She smiled diabolically. "Indeed."

Rose couldn't bear to look at her anymore, turning her gaze to her hands in her lap. Her breaths didn't come comfortably. "They never told me. About the curse, I mean. Or who you are." 

"Of course they didn't." At the disapproving flavor layering the words, Rose looked up to see a look of contempt on the other's face. "Idiots."

Briar Rose almost wanted to laugh; it was odd. "Are you a witch?"

The woman made an expression like an exceptionally bad smell entered her nostrils. "I am a dark fairy." 

But she had no wings. Maybe that’s why she said dark and not an ordinary one. She had a million other questions about the nature of dark fairies and magical creatures, but there were more urgent things she had to discuss. "Why did you do it?"

She didn’t specify what ‘it’ was, but she was sure she’d catch the meaning. The dark fairy took a deep breath and pursed her lips. She did. "Perhaps I did not have a reason."

The blonde shook her head and furrowed her brows. "You must've. You-you cursed me to die and I had done nothing to you."

"Exactly," The fairy spoke with disdain. "But, were I to have a reason, it obviously had nothing to do with you."

Rose rose from her chair. "It had _everything_ to do with me. I was the one that would die, not anyone else!"

The dark fairy did as well, with a cold and ferocious expression. Rose lost her nerve instantly, the taller figure's face nearing her own, making her cower and look at the carpet. "You think I won't snap your little neck in a second, if only I desire it?"

The woman’s breath hit against Rose’s cheek. The words were whispered with a wild sensuality. They made Rose gulp and her heart hammer. Her fear was mixed with an intangible emotion she couldn’t name.

"I'm sorry," She tried to mumble but the words were barely coherent.

"Sit down."

Rose did so right away, head bowed. 

Maleficent held her chin up and went back to her seat. She started with a casual tone, "Through the years all the royals invited me to their festivities, not wanting to anger me and knowing full well that I had better things to do. Apparently your father wanted to be smarter and make the difference! Although, had he and his Queen not owed me before, my punishment may have been slightly less severe."

The young princess looked troubled. "They owed you?" She asked in a small voice. 

She considered carefully whether she should tell Rose the full truth behind her parents' lies and secrets. Doing so, would drive the girl even farther from them, which was happening already, as Diablo had said.

And it was a positive thing, for it meant she would reach out to her instead. But the details of that secret at her end, was she sure was ready to give that information up? “In any case, it seemed my spell proved to be beneficial to you."

Rose sighed. "Only because of how they acted."

She flared her nostrils. "I am not to be held responsible for how idiotically they behaved in the situation."

But to this, the princess agreed. "No."

She sat back on the soft surface of the chair. Maleficent was contented with how the conversation had gone.

"What did they owe you?" 

She supposed it couldn't be helped. "The Queen begged me for a fertility potion. She had to be sure it would work. And well, my reputation proceeds me."

It seemed like Rose was digesting all this information, so she paused for a little and added, "Let’s just say she forgot to pay the price for it.” 

The eyes that looked at her were sad and confused. Rose sighed with frustration and murmured. "Ugh, why did everything have to go so wrong?"

Maleficent almost wanted to reach out and touch the light curl at the corner of the girl's eye, put her arms around her and console her, tell her, I don't know but things are going to be alright from now on.

_Foolish._

It was not her place to do so, it would be neither wanted nor accepted and rather two-faced of her, considering the threat she made a few moments ago. 

She called the scepter to her hand and stood up. "If we are done here, I have things to do." 

As she moved, "One more question, what's the stick about?"

The dark fairy's eyes were sprinkled with humor. "It is _not_ a stick."

"Well what is it then?" She pushed.

The woman reached the hallway, her voice perfectly audible as the click of the stick against the marble. "Enough questions for today, princess. If you wish to stay here you are allowed, but do pay mind to what you touch."

The front door opened and closed and Rose was left wondering how she could still not know her name. 

* * *

The good fairies and the royal couple were in distress. 

Fauna had put her hands over her face, crouched over the bench. Flora was holding the Queen who had bent to the ground, her eyes stuck to the spot Rose disappeared at. Merryweather was having a fit.

"I told you, didn't I tell you? Oh, that hateful-wicked-beast! If I could oh I'd-I'd-!"

"Hush, Merryweather." Flora pleaded. "Your Majesty, don't despair, please. We'll find her, wherever she is,"

"How? You don't have any powers! If she has Aurora we're doomed." The Queen sobbed.

That was worst thing, this time they couldn't even try to do something to stop her. They were mortals and weak, couldn't create any shield or sword, teleport or petrify. Last time, they barely escaped with their life, and they had all that. "If that vile creature is behind this.." Stephen started.

Merryweather turned to him. "Of course she is! I wish it weren't as much as you do, but that raven is her minion. I turned him to stone once!"

Stephen fumed. He was about to speak but Fauna talked before he managed to break down. "If I may, your Highness, I believe Rose will be alright. Maleficent likes to take her time with fulfilling her villainy, as you know."

"It'd be like her to prefer to turn Aurora against us, poisoning her mind rather than to kill her quickly and secretly. She'd want us to know the full length of her power."

The Queen's face was wet with tears. "We know it already! She stripped us of any happiness and then in the illusion that we could have it she took it away again!"

"Now there is nothing we can do but wait for Rose to come back. We need to be ready for the moment she does; it all depends on how we will act then. There is hope yet, your Majesties." 

They heeded Flora's words, trying to recover from the crisis that befell them. Looking forward they had to be smart. Smarter. They knew Aurora, they had to act in a way that would bring their daughter back to them. Back where she belonged. 

The development with Hubert's son would have to be handled as well. Stephen, much like in the affairs of the past, owed a lot to Hubert's business and seeing how the state of his own business was, the union of the companies would be very valuable. 

As if on cue, Hubert called, very angry. "What's this all about, Stephen? Why is my Phillip crestfallen and going on and on about how your daughter broke his little heart?"

"Oh Hubert, the most disastrous thing happened... I apologize for my daughter's behavior, we believe she is spelled and not in her right mind." Stephen took a breath, considering his next words. They didn't use talk about the past in this life with the other King. 

Planning to keep his image clean, he worded himself. "Maleficent is back and Aurora’s in danger. And I believe you must have questions I should shed light upon. Care to visit?"

* * *

Maleficent didn't like wearing her hair down. 

Not because it wasn't pleasing to look at, after all, she was a wicked fairy. Her hair was silk, smooth and far livelier than any human's. Wicked fae were meant to use wicked beauty to ensnare and allure. 

But she had said no to those practices long ago. It was what told her apart from all the others. She didn't want to hold power over mortals because of such a trait, she wanted raw and true power. It was far more powerful to ensnare people without glamours, to submit out of their own volition. 

Hair got in your face, hair got pulled as strangers and family violated your decency and long hair was a sign of femininity. And women were weak and vulnerable. 

So Maleficent traded her hair for a set of horns that made her form seem frightening, she traded her black eyes with the yellow of crocodiles or lemurs, to lose even more of her faraway humanity. She didn’t want their looks of amazement, they disgusted her. They were below her. They would see just how far down.

But, for some reason, even though she could still do magic in this land, those spells had been undone. And there seemed to be little reason to cast them again, seeing how the humans here followed another system, didn't provoke her and put women on a higher pedestal than she was used to.

One of the first things she did when she arrived in this realm, was become educated in their culture. To tame an animal you learn to understand it, to grow an army you train knowing its weaknesses. It seemed that here, magic didn't exist but was a thing they dreamed and admired, as it showed through their art. And it was real magic, not the nonsense of the good fae. Interesting.

She was unprovoked and were she to reveal herself, she'd sooner have an array of worshipers than any attack worth mentioning. 

Maleficent always acted depending on her desires. Was having human slaves and tearing this world apart something she wanted? Not particularly, but it gave her unconditional satisfaction that she could have it, if she wanted.

Relishing in the control she could wield had always been the source of her ambition. Having the fate of everyone who wronged her, or hadn't yet, on her hands, now that, was true power. 

They said evil fairies could not feel any positive emotion. It was why they were evil, not understanding the joy of happiness.

She didn't recall a time when her heart wasn't frozen, she didn't recall a time when she could have said she was 'happy'. So they must have been right. 

It felt off having the strings of ink framing her face. So why didn’t she cast it away again?

It had been so long since she had looked in the mirror and didn’t see the abomination she chose. Sometimes she hid her hair in made up horns to feel the familiar weight on her head. But she couldn’t part with the curtain of darkness completely yet, she hadn’t decided to.

The black bird was hyperventilating and soon disappeared into dust. Funny how she could easily cast a death, but she couldn't do this. "Forgive me, little one." She told the ashes of the wounded bird.

Having the fate of others on your hands should also mean you can judge their salvation. But it was a concept beyond her. And it crossed her mind that these ashes could've been Diablo's. As if he could sense her sadness, he flew to her shoulder and cawed. 

He's still here. No matter what happens, he'll be here. And perhaps that was the closest to happiness her stone for a heart could feel.

Rising from the ground, Maleficent made her way back to her guest. It was surprising, really, that the girl still hadn't left. She spent the entire day inside the house, the times that Maleficent walked back, she saw that she was furrowing her delicate brows over a book. She didn't trust that Rose hadn't explored even a bit, but she didn't mind.

"Are you redefining your intellectual boundaries?"

The girl was shaken to the sound of her voice, it was too easy to take her by surprise. She coughed and let the book down. Actually, there was a large pile on the floor. "Um, I suppose?" Sheepish.

Maleficent moved the books to their respective positions with the green mist of her magic in a couple of seconds. The girl looked with wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth. 

She couldn't help but wonder what her reaction would be to greater spells.

"I-I'm probably bothering you-Am I bothering you?" 

Maleficent remained stoic. "No, but you do have a rather concerned group of guardians waiting for you, I'd wager."

Rose was irritated at the indication of them. It was satisfying somewhat. "I know, ugh," She walked closer. "It's weird that I prefer being here to being with them, isn't it? Considering how threatening you are."

"Very." 

The blonde girl chuckled and continued to look at her. "Will you ever tell me your name?"

Maleficent took a deep breath and stepped towards her. "They say there comes a certain privilege with being aware of an evil fairy's name." Briar Rose was backtracking, until her back was lining up with the window.

"What's that?" Rose's voice was too thin for her to mask the unease.

"Each time you speak it she will hear." She said to her ear, in hushed tone. 

Rose didn't dare breathe. "Is it true?"

Maleficent smirked with a glint in her eye and stepped back, not giving her an answer. Or providing an unspoken answer otherwise. With a fair amount of distance between them, "What sort of powers do you have?"

The girl was curious about _her_. There certainly had to be other questions she could make, but instead chose this. 

"What sort of power don't I have?"

Rose seemed to think for a bit. "Can you make it snow?" She asked with a wide set of eyes and anticipation painting her face. 

Now, when Maleficent chose to remind Rose of her past, she definitely didn't imagine that she would end up in this situation. She wanted the girl to see clearly, she was owed the truth, she was living in an empty delusion. She despised her guardians too, so it would be a wonderful result to see them in agony as their daughter saw them for who they were.

She had expected a change in the dynamic between her and Rose, but not to be seen as a clown to entertain her. Was it the hair?

"I know it is silly of me to ask this, it's just I've never seen snow. The city we were in before was never that cold in winter. I can't-"She stared at the floor sadly."I can't remember ever seeing it."

Rose's car accident made her angry beyond belief. Not only were they so useless at protecting her, they caused her this.

But did they?

Fate is playful, maybe it crafted another version of a curse for the new world. And she had an idea or two about how her spell worked, because truly, post traumatic amnesia shouldn't have lasted this long. This is like Aurora simply walked into this life, after her curse took effect. 

It wasn't a hard thing to do, snow, that is. 

"I get it, you aren't here to put some sort of show for me, it was ridiculous of me to ask. I'll go." 

And Maleficent would agree, but why did she suddenly want to do this? She walked towards the entrance, Rose behind her. Scepter glowing green in her grasp, she moved her slender fingers around the crystal. 

The door opened and she stepped out to linger at the side of the steps.

The warmth of the natural temperature didn't waver, but drops of snow started heavily falling around them, missing them. It was an odd sight, snow in the month of July. It fell like it was cotton and coated the ground in an impossibly fast pace. 

In less than a minute, it looked like a freezing day of winter, if you ignored the shorts Rose wore and the sleeveless shirt. 

Maleficent fixed her gaze on her, needing to see her reaction. The girl had her back to her at that moment, so she only saw her light colored waves. But when Rose turned...

She looked absolutely enthralled by the sight around her. Her eyes shone with the stars that would soon cover the night sky, her lips even redder against the white, forming a heart-stopping dreamy smile. 

And then that smile was aimed at her. 

And then, the girl laughed in wonder, arms outstretched to catch snowflakes. "It's not even cold! How did you do that?" The beautiful princess did circles in the snow, watching the footprints her sneakers made on the smooth surface. 

"It is not real snow, you know." 

Rose didn't seem to care. She grabbed fistfuls of snow, laid down on it. "It's not cold!" And laughed again. 

Maleficent couldn't stop the innocent smile on her lips, so she turned her head. Why was she like this? She made the young girl laugh and grin, for what? Why did it make her heartbeat loud in her ears?

She wiped her face of any expression and walked to the girl. "Are you done, yet? Snow isn't really my specialty."

Rose looked at her like she was part of the magical scenery around her, not some evil woman who almost killed her. "Thank you." It was genuine and so off-putting. When did anyone ever say thank you to Maleficent? She swallowed.

The snow melted. "What is your specialty?" Rose was still smiling. 

"Thunderstorms." Cleared her throat. "Now," Maleficent needed whatever was happening to stop. "Diablo!" The raven flew to her hand. "Take her back." She had given the bird a teleportation skill.

The girl protested. "Oh, that thing makes me dizzy-" 

Maleficent stood staring at the empty spot where the girl used to be just a second ago. 

It was amusing to play with her, but she went too far. This was dangerous, even for her. There was line she couldn't, mustn't cross. Caring for little princesses was bad, catching the little things called feelings was even worse.

She should have known better than this. Roses are beautiful but they have thorns. And though her skin was harder than armor, Rose was too close to finding a crack in it. 

If she were being honest, this started when she saw her asleep and acted like a victim to her own curse.

The clouds darkened and tiny raindrops touched the ground.

* * *

Rose had a couple ideas about the mess she would face…

Screaming and shouting. Fighting about going to the enemy. But no, it wasn’t exactly like that.

Upon her return, her mother just ran to her and hugged her, with an expression like she was crying. “You’re okay?”

Rose nodded. Then, she was taken inside where more than just her father and aunts resided. Phillip was there too. Rose felt the stress that had escaped her the last few hours return tenfold. “Why is he here?”

“Aurora!” Her aunts exclaimed, seeing her. Her father hugged her, his expression as serious as ever. 

“Sit, sweetie.”

Rose sat, glad that they were actually acting so mature and were planning to have a big conversation with her. She didn’t have her hopes too high, she hadn’t yet heard what they wanted to tell her. She avoided Phillip’s gaze like the plague.

“First of all, you can’t understand the anxiety we felt in your absence, Aurora. Your fairy godmothers were right, the monster didn’t harm you physically. But I couldn’t be sure.” Her mother was smiling through tears.

She didn’t like how they called the fairy a monster. And they also called her aunts fairy godmothers. Well, it was a start. “I’m fine.” She shrugged.

"Well, you wanted the truth, right? We'll tell you everything."

"The truth is, darling, we love you so much. We're so sorry for keeping this from you. We should've been honest from the start, but we were just so happy to have another chance with you, to raise you like we never did."

"We wanted to have the normal happy life with you, that we didn't get to have." Her father added.

"When you were born, it was like a miracle. We had been trying for a such a long time. It's why we named you Aurora, you were the light of our life. Sending you away was the hardest thing we've done. I will continue to call you Aurora, because that's the daughter I brought into the world, the daughter we raised here."

Flora decided to speak next. "You understand why we raised you the way we did, don't you? You were in danger. And oh, dear, we did the best we could and it still wasn't enough... but all was good in the end!"

Rose furrowed her brows. "Was it?"

"We understand that it pained you not to know that you lived an entire life before this one, but despite all the mistakes we may have done in that other life, you were still happy, weren't you? We were all happy, even just for a little bit." Her mother looked around. And Rose didn't understand the smiles on everyone's lips but her own.

"What do you mean you were all happy?" She said confused. "When I was sleeping like the dead, you were all happy?"

The smiles were wiped clean. "Of course not dear!" Fauna exclaimed. 

"When you woke up!" Flora said cheerfully. "That year was wonderful, wasn't it, dear?"

Rose was even more confused. "What?"

Everyone seemed to be at a loss for words. "Oh. I see now." Phillip said with sadness. Rose was growing angry. It was like there was a joke she didn't get to hear and everyone kept laughing about it, unaware of her dismay. 

"Aurora, I thought you remembered. I thought she-" Her father placed a palm over his forehead. "Of course that _monster_ would only remind you of what she wanted you remember."

"What's the last thing you remember from that life?" Merryweather asked. 

She shook her head, still not understanding. "Sleeping!"

Phillip was...angry.

Fauna touched her hand and Rose's focus went to her. "While you were sleeping, Prince Phillip and us were in chains imprisoned by Maleficent, but we broke free. Well, now Maleficent did something we didn't expect, she turned into a dragon,"

"But your fairy godmothers had given me the Shield of Virtue and the Sword of Truth and I managed to kill the beast. I found you on the highest tower," Phillip smiled. "I kissed you and you woke up."

Merryweather’s smile didn’t reach her eyes, but Rose didn’t see. “I had changed the curse so you’d wake up with True Love’s kiss.”

"No.." But nobody heard her.

"Shortly after that we got married and I thought we would live happily ever after but I was wrong."

"That bird," Merryweather started. "Didn't stay petrified forever, it took the sword out of its master. It-it brought her back." 

"Maleficent is..." She knew the answer.

"The evil fairy who cursed you, Aurora." Her father's voice was booming.

Flora was frustrated. "Of course she wouldn't tell you her name! Oh, she fooled you dear, whatever she may have said."

Rose sat back, paralyzed. 

"We had to protect you and each other." Stephen said.

Flora opened her mouth. "Their Majesties asked of us to take everyone away to another realm and turn back time. And we ended up here, right where we are now."

"That beast followed us here, wanting to make our lives hell again." 

"Honey, I know you remember nothing from before the accident. It's her fault. If it was post-traumatic, you'd remember everything by now. It's not normal and it's her fault, she wants us to never find peace."

"Stop talking..." Rose was shaken. "Why don't I remember that year?"

Phillip banged his fist on the table. "That thing, made it so you didn't."

"She wants to make us out to be the bad guys,"

"She wants to take you away from us!"

Rose stood from her chair. "How do I know you're not lying to me?"

"Child, she wanted you dead!" Merryweather was astounded. "She's not even human!" Phillip added. "It's a beast."

"Stop saying that!”

"Oh, sweet Aurora. She has you under her spell, doesn't she?"

"She didn't do any spells on me." She argued.

Flora continued. "Oh, if Maleficent wanted she wouldn't let you have a clue that you're being spelled by her. Just like your curse, dear."

Rose held her mouth, she couldn't tell them she was aware of every second under the fulfillment of the curse, the words she had said. Her step staggered. "I need time to think."

"Please know that we are not your enemy. We love you. And like you said, people that love you don’t lie. It was wrong of us to lie in the past, but from now on, we will never lie to you again. "

Rose walked like a zombie into her room and looked through the window beside her bed with sorrow. 

It was raining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry?????  
> i stared for a while at this draft and wanted to be sure it was what it should be  
> we’re halfway through the story now the updates will be less frequent  
> i’d love love love to hear some comments!!!


	5. I'm Sorry I Care, It's Not that Fair

“And they say I’m the one for theatrics.” 

Maleficent clicked her tongue, her gaze set on the foggy distance outside the window. Controlling the weather was never as much of a hardship as it should've been, the core of her magic naturally reaching out to the air as a means of exuding the emotion surrounding it. 

It had become a barely registered occurrence in her older residence, the recurring darkness of the sky over her castle and the storms forming exclusively within a number of miles around her. 

Diablo was silently flapping his wet wings and settled on the top of the railing outside. He understood when not to disturb her, especially after what he had just shared with her upon his return and the growing downpour. 

It was a secret with deep roots the one she had told her. In all honesty, she didn't know why she wanted her to know, what good would it do? 

What was she thinking? That the girl would call out for her, that she would need her? Now if anything she'll know not to use it so she can't spy on any discussion about her.

Family is the worst poison of all, you either choose to let it kill you or you kill it along with the part of you it's infected. Maleficent has already acted on her choice, Rose hasn't and nothing assures her that when she does it'll be on the same as hers.

What did she think was going to happen here? What was the point of meeting the princess this whole time? Where was her grand scheme of destroying the royal family?

She had to give it to them, it was a crafty and detailed display, for once they were smart. Rose couldn't be swayed like this, her family crossed such a line, bet everything they had on the little show. 

Her goal should've been to destroy them directly from the start, not to weave memory enchantments into flowers. Her focus should've been bigger on restoring the dragon they dared slay.

She was a villain, she was the monster in the stories, not a hero. And Rose would hopefully realize it as well.

They did her a favor, really. The nonsense she was doing with Rose had led into complicated conclusions. She wouldn't know how to sever that connection, better that she believes all the lies she was being told.

There wasn't a world where the villain gets the girl, it was pointless looking for it.

She didn't know if Rose had seen everything, remembered everything or not, and there was no waiting around to find out anymore. It didn't matter now, she wouldn't do the mistake of making the girl the center of everything again.

There was a weakness, she was the reason all of this happened at all; had she not existed, Maleficent would not have to change a world, she would not have felt her second skin die, trapped in it. But it was hard to hate the princess.

It was hard to accuse her of anything, considering how pure and unknowing she was of everything. It was a problem, something that kept Maleficent back, her innocence. It would keep her back no more.

And now that the problem was taken off her hands, she could proceed with finally destroying them, as they thought she was planning to. 

* * *

Rose didn't understand why things had to be so complex. 

She wished she could have had a normal relationship, where she would break up with her boyfriend and dealing with the repercussions would be her biggest concern. She wished she had a normal family, where her aunts were actually blood related and not magic-less fairies. A life where she had friends, went out like any other girl.

But she was never normal. 

From the status of a princess she was born with, to the hair of liquid gold, the clear skin, the blue eyes looking almost violet without having to face any eyesight difficulties, to the curiosity about being with a girl, to her untrained yet melodic voice and her communication with animals.

To her odd upbringing, secluded and of an old era, to the empty box of memories in another. 

She feels like she hasn't been living her own life, but a simulation, where none of her actions or decisions are made by personal judgement. She hates it, she hates that she can't trust anyone.

She has been silent the past few days, everyone is treating her nicer than ever, making desserts and favorite dishes. Rose prefers to stay in her room, watching the rhythm of raindrops falling against her window, the change of pace and intensity. 

It wasn't so usual to see this much rain in late July. She couldn't help but wonder.

Philip was staying away for a while, according to her parents he was 'giving her time'. Apparently since she was allegedly married to him and so happy about it as well, it only made sense that she would change her mind soon and appease everyone. 

They tried to insist that it's still her choice if she doesn't want 'to have the happiness' she once had. Needless pleasantries.

The thing is, Rose could never imagine that happiness they had been telling her about. She didn't want to wake up, she didn't want to look at any of their faces, back then. She hadn't known that Phillip was the prince she was to marry, but still why marry so soon? Had she been pregnant? Back then, children was a class A worry.

Surely not, they hadn't mentioned anything about a baby. God, just the thought of it was creeping her out, she didn't want to be a mother, nor Phillip's wife. 

She wanted to grow wings and fly away from the madness. Maleficent could help her with that.

Maybe not.

In the eyes of everyone she was a monster who only wanted to harm her and them. How could be a person be so different in one's eyes? How could it be that the only person that excited her, was the person she had to stay away from?

Why didn't Maleficent keep her asleep? Was she really bested by her ex-boyfriend and fairy-aunts? 

Rose sighed. There was a knock on her door. "Honey?"

"Yes?" Her mother came in her room. Rose's face was blank. 

"I had an idea," Her mother sat next to her on the bed, with a big smile on her face. "It's been pouring these days and I know you miss your walks in the parks, what do you say we drive away, maybe to that big lake we've heard about? I think the weather is not that bad outside the city."

Rose was surprised. They had never been so interested in spending time with her, and it was a truly good idea. But she couldn't do it.

"Thanks, mom... but it's fine. The rain will stop at some point." She looked at the floor, something else on the tip of her tongue. "I want to ask you something."

Leah nodded, eager to comply, although disappointed that her suggestion was rejected. 

"Why didn't you...invite her?"

Leah's expression went cold, swallowing apparent. "Aurora, you have to know that even if we had, it is in her nature to be wicked and she would have wrought something evil upon us anyway."

"She told me she helped you and you forgot to repay her." She was looking at her mother in the eyes, head on.

Leah jumped, an angered expression on her face. "No! I-that's-" She huffed. "We had trouble conceiving but of course I would never- meddle with such dark -satanic things, no." She shook her head many times. "She didn't, she didn't and we didn't invite her to protect you."

Rose stared at her flustered catholic mother, looked away and huffed in sarcasm. "So you really think not inviting Satan means he can't get in."

For a few moments, her mother just stared and there was silence. 

"You should talk to Phillip, sweetheart. You know, he's heartbroken about all this."

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's not five, can you stop talking about how hurt he is? I don't care if I was married to him before, don't you see I don't love him now?"

Her mother shook her head disapprovingly. "It's just a shame, sweetie. You won't find anyone better."

Rose's jaw came unhinged, a sound of disbelief. "How can you say that? I'm barely an adult, I've got years ahead of me, how can you possibly say that?"

She set her mouth in a line to one side, disappointment all over. "Sometimes the perfect matches come along early on, you know."

Leah walked out of the room with hard steps and Rose felt even more trapped than before. 

She couldn't stand it, she stood up and went out in the rain. It gave her the illusion of freedom, being outside of four walls. Even just for a little bit, the water was consoling her.

 _Fuck this._ She'd rather be alone than with someone she didn't want. 

* * *

The bird did not come back.

For the next four days, it poured heavily, with breaks of intimidating clouds and a newfound chill in the air. Rose didn't see the clever black bird on her or her window, on the railing on her porch or anywhere else, remotely close to the woods. 

She tried to think hard on whether this meant that her parents were right and Maleficent was keeping away because she was found out, if it was step in her game, another chess move. If this had no importance, if it was a calm-rain- before the storm. She avoided the fairies and it seemed that they did the same.

They tried to ask her about Maleficent slowly at first, but stopped seeing how non responsive and annoyed she was. It was unusual for everyone to be minding their own business, but she couldn't bring herself to question even more than she already was.

Rose had to deal with Philip somehow, find some way to tell him no again and this time make it final with no questions asked. 

Her entire world viewpoint had broken down in a matter days and the amount of questions she had was immense, swerving and reforming continuously. And while another would look for every chance to inquire them, she just wanted to forget them.

A repulsive misery had befallen her, she briefly considered calling or texting some of her acquaintances, but she couldn't think of what to say or how. It was more isolating than ever.

When the news about leaving came, she didn't react in any specific way. She didn't ask about details; like where they were going, if they had relatives, if it was going to be a hotel, but she certainly thought they couldn't afford another house as they had just settled into this one. 

It made sense, her family was scared of Maleficent now that she knew their exact location-and Rose dared not explain how long ago she encountered the bird for the first time- and figured they had to leave. She even thought she heard something about another country, but the worst was a hushed argument she overheard late at night, when they thought she was fast asleep.

Her mother was suggesting they find shelter in a catholic convent, where as she exclaimed such satanic presences can't enter and harm them. Her father, though he agreed that was true, he couldn't throw away their lifestyle and his business with Hubert.

The last comment made Rose frown. 

She backed away from the door as quietly as she could, seeing how the conversation died down when they agreed to discuss it again in the morning. Soundlessly she slipped into her own room and turned the knob slowly, letting out a breath when it was closed without noise. 

Her sleep disorder was worse these days, she stressed constantly. When she was sleeping, her dreams were thrilling in the scariest, most pleasant way.

But she forgot them as soon as she found the strength to move her body from the bed. There was something odd there; like her mind was obscuring her dreams so she would not go completely mad. 

Rose sat and glanced at the crystal vase with the red rose inside. Maleficent had given her this, she had been growing rose bushes, of every color. Would a truly terrible person, or not even a person, a monster, care for flowers?

If they had known she had given her this flower they would have immediately crushed it and thrown it in the trash. Rose let them do no such thing. 

In the disappointment that ruled her emotions, she found it hard to trust her family. Maybe they were right, that it was the point of this predator to charm you before it preys on you. Rose started tearing up, considering how poor her life experience has been and how perfectly miserable her situation was.

A secret Rose never told anyone, was the true extent of her curiosity. When she was a peasant girl, she had never encountered a couple of women in any stories, so she had no idea it was possible. But waking up in a progressive world, the exposure to such things had left her astounded and sickeningly-one would say- curious.

A convent? Had she influenced her mother with her earlier words? She wasn't religious, another secret she kept. How could she be?

Before she knew it, she was tearing up. How could they not realize how unhappy she was? They never did. 

Her gaze focused again. It was incredible; the red velvet was as fresh as ever and fully bloomed. She supposed it was magical like the one that grew it and a soft smile tiptoed around her mouth, despite all, as she caressed the petals once more.

She took the rose out. 

It was very obvious where the thorns were, they were large. Would it hurt like the spindle?

Would Maleficent hide another gift for her in this sharp end?

Something was beckoning her to slide her skin across that greenish brown needle. It wasn’t like the first time, Rose was almost begging for something to happen if she pierced her finger. Like an epiphany. 

It stung, for a second she thought nothing would happen. She didn’t lose consciousness, it was like gaining one.

When you wake up, commonly you sit and recall what you dreamed, after a few seconds of being stuck in a robotic trance. Those seconds were passing and the fragments became clearer and clearer. 

Every picture, every feeling, every sound, told in a minute. 

The empty void, the darkness of closing your eyes and sleeping endlessly, the coldness, all unpredictably faded and a cloudy, dim sky appeared.

Rose looked at the mass of trees next, they were not green, but bare and thin. Then, the ground underneath her feet-it didn’t seem smooth but she felt nothing on her soles as she was stepping on it. 

What is this, was her first thought, she felt awake somehow? It was livelier than a usual dream. But she didn’t know this place and the edges of everywhere she looked were hazy.

“The princess Aurora.” 

Rose looked for the owner of the voice but saw no one. The sound was sardonic but it was all-consuming above all, like it came from the dead forest itself. “We meet at last.” 

Rose was instinctively worried as the rule of not talking to strangers was still fresh, but pursed her lips. “My name is Briar Rose.” She corrected with determination. “And I cannot imagine making an acquaintance where one of us is not able to see the other.” 

A deep amused chuckle. “You wish to see me?” The tone of voice was incredulous.

“It is only proper, is it not?”

Rose waited with a hint of trepidation for the stranger to reveal themselves. 

Out of the mist in the depth of the woods, a dark figure materialized. Rose considered how the last thing she noticed was this shadow before she slept and she felt a chill down her spine. 

The figure walked ghastly, its details soon traceable. A black and purple cloak wiping the ground, horns like the devil and eyes shining yellow, those stuck out to Rose the most. She felt herself lose her strong posture, to a tendency to make herself smaller and cower, which she tried to shake.

“Who are you? Where am I?” She inquired after swallowing and attempting to straighten her back. 

The other person got a look about them at her questions, their painted dark red lips lightly smirking. “This is the forest of the Forbidden Mountain...as it is, your body resides elsewhere.” 

Rose processed the words slowly, comprehending that indeed, this was not real life and that the stranger dismissed her first question. “You do know, of course,“ Rose looked up and saw the figure circling her. “of the horrors at the top of that mountain.” 

All Rose could see was a strangely shaped black peak at the distance. She avoided the gaze of the stranger and shook her head.

“You don’t!” Suddenly a pointy nail was placed under her jaw, as the figure turned to her from her right side and Rose lost a breath. “Do you? My, they did not tell you a thing, did they?” 

The figure was wearing a delighted curve of a smile and Rose was an equal measure of scared as frustrated. Before she could voice her agreement or disagreement, the woman stepped away and hit her metallic long and thin stick against the ground. 

“I am Maleficent, Mistress of All Evil. I would have thought those three useless fairies would have told you all about me. Clearly, I overestimated them.” She grumbled.

Rose realized Maleficent was talking about her aunties. “You are who they trying to protect me from, aren’t you?” 

“I hardly call that an effort! Were it not for my equally stupid goons, I would have found you a long time ago.” She breathed in and continued in a calmer tone. “But nevermind, you are asleep now, I merely thought to pay my little victim a visit.” 

The woman looked at her with satisfaction, a tilt on her head and Rose swallowed. “So I am dreaming.” 

“That you are, and I wonder, how does it make you feel knowing that I’m the last person you’ll ever see?” The smile was devilish. 

Rose sighed and smiled lightly. “Relieved. I’d rather know who it was that... led me to be here.” The woman wasn’t smiling anymore. “What if I want a lake over there? And greener trees? Can I make it so?”

Maleficent was stoic. “It is _your_ dream after all.” 

She tried to picture it very clearly and strongly, the lake she knew, the grass and the leaves. When Rose opened her eyes she was halfway there, some of the trees looked more brown and green than black and so did most of the ground. She did create a lake, but it was way smaller than the one she went to, possibly more shallow too. 

Nevertheless she smiled gleefully and sat down next to it, putting her hands in the water. The sensation was small, maybe because this was a dream space and not reality, but she was thankful for it.

”Do not get comfortable. All this will evaporate once I leave. And I do have important business to attend to.” A laugh.

Rose turned and stood. “You’re leaving?!” 

“It is your curse, not mine.”

She ran to the lady in black and stopped in front of her, fighting her urge to grab her arm. “I don’t know what it is you have to do b-but you have to come back, please? I don’t want them to wake me but I don’t want to be alone in that void either. Don’t forget me, please.”

Rose was tearing up, eagerly waiting for Maleficent to respond. The sight gave amusement to the dark fairy. “Look at you, poor thing, begging suits you.” 

A wicked laugh and then everything melted away.

The next time Rose saw Maleficent, the woman was not in an as good mood and the wait had felt excruciatingly long. Rose had supposed she had truly forgotten her or let her in her cursed emptiness. 

“Why in the world do you look at me that way?” It was almost not voiced as a question, filled with confusion and annoyance. As Rose rushed in front of her and was about to explain she spoke again.

“In any case, you would not be as happy to hear of what has occurred in the physical realm all this while.” Her brow was raised and a smug gaze graced her eyes.

Rose frowned. “What has?” The girl sat down on the edge of the lake she envisioned once more and looked up at Maleficent. "Have you seen my aunt- I mean..."

"Yes, yes. And that idiotic prince of yours, that you thought to invite to your cottage too." A deep chuckle. At the look of realization on Rose's face, she continued. "Yes, princess, that was the same boy that they sold you to when you were a baby."

Rose's face clouded and looked to the horizon. "Tell me what happened."

Maleficent looked far ahead as well and took a breath. "Well, my goons were celebrating in my honor, it was relaxing, I was planning on keeping your prince there until he grows old and ridicule the so-called True Love your dear aunts believe in." Rose noticed Maleficent's eyes grow darker and more solemn. 

"They broke him free and _killed_ my bird." 

The girl watched as she gritted her teeth and a malicious grin took place. "Some good fairies! The next worse thing after them is cheaters. A fighter with magically enhanced weapons to hit without effort is no fighter. I was a dragon! Prince Phillip would have not stood against me otherwise. So, princess, can you guess what came next?"

Rose swallowed. "You were wounded?"

"I expected you to ask about the safety of your prince-"

"He is not my prince, but simply someone I wanted to come save me from unhappy boredom..."

Maleficent laughed heartily. "Well, Prince Phillip stabbed me in the heart, but I did not die, of course. It was quite uncomfortable being trapped by a sword but soon I was released! By your good fairies, no less. Desperation really is powerful."

Rose was confused. Her aunts and Phillip wanted to kill? And how is it that Maleficent was there talking to her when all this happened? "Why did they release you? I don't understand."

"Their True Love wasn't so true after all! It must have shocked them to the last inch of their ugly hats when the prince kissed you and you remained frozen." Rose gasped lightly. "You see now, Briar Rose? They killed my only companion, my dragonskin and when they realized how hopeless they are, decided they needed me."

"But that is-!" Rose started, mortified. 

"Despicable? Hm, yes. I suppose they had the idea that I would take the act of bringing me back into account. They are all in my dungeons now, until I decide how to kill them." Her expression was one of relaxed fulfillment. 

"Do you have to kill them? I mean, I understand how it seems fair..."

Maleficent lifted her jaw. "This is about revenge, little princess. I am the Mistress of All Evil."

"Our names and who we are are very different things... I just meant that there must be something that satisfies you more than death."

Maleficent sat silent as she processed the princess's words. Wiser than maybe the girl even realizes, but the question surprised her. The sudden awareness of how she was sitting down and making conversation with the pretty human girl in a manner akin to civil was disorienting. A title is a title, not the content, even though she had been using it as such for herself. 

One thing was certain, the girl was nothing like she expected. It is true that she had never considered how the princess would be feeling all this time, and by the time she did, the blonde was falling asleep. She was going almost as far as to think it was a shame that such fate had befallen her. 

"Torture, the misery of others. Death might be a mercy sometimes, on this I agree." 

Rose tilted her head and smiled bitterly. And then, Maleficent considered how the situation could be turned towards her as well. It was solidified how the girl would never wake up from her sleep, with the turn of events in the physical realm.

Deciding on what to do with her prisoners, she thought about how the princess would stay this way, tiptoeing around the idea that she would have her by her side forever, in this half-alive state. It was a greedy thought. 

"Do you ever think about dying?" Rose inquired and stood, stepping into the lake. 

"I am immortal."

The girl thought it made sense. In glances she took of the woman, there were times when to say she was a decade over her own age seemed extreme, and others when she seemed centuries older. "Still, do you not give any thought to how it is to die? I think some of us maybe weren't born for this world... that if you close your eyes forever you will wake in the one that you do belong in."

"I'm more inclined to bend the world to my will if it doesn't want me."

Rose turned and smiled at her dreamily. "That sounds powerful."

The water had reached the girl's knees and kept elevating. Or rather Rose kept going deeper. "Because I am, the most powerful dark fairy in existence."

Rose felt the ghost of water drenching her, watched the droplets from her fingers. "I wish I was more like you."

Maleficent blinked rapidly and held back a huffing sound, ignoring the thought of caution for how deep Rose was going, because it stopped at her shoulders. "You do not."

Rose giggled lightly, and walked back outside of the water. "Do you know that my- the three good fairies made me never talk to strangers? I never even stood a chance. The world would sooner break me and kill me than let me bend a sliver of its will."

What was the purpose of giving the solution of true love when she could never meet anyone? For Satan's sake. It made Maleficent angry, but it dissipated as Rose neared and the older woman swallowed and settled her gaze on a rock fiercely, as the girl's dress had become wet and clung to her body.

"I will never feel full sensations again and talk to anyone other than you, because my life was never mine. People just decided to take different parts of it. And I got left with nothing." She talked like she was at peace with it and sat back down next to Maleficent, who had absolutely nothing to add. 

"Can I ask you a terrible question?"

Maleficent raised her brow, still avoiding looking at her, trying to be respectful or decent, when she really was not. She guessed the girl would ask her about her reasoning behind cursing her. "Go on."

Rose still seemed to struggle, her gentle brows furrowing, Maleficent noticed this because she did turn to look after a bit, when there was no question being voiced. Finally, "Is it really impossible for two w-women to love each other?" 

The older woman blinked a couple of times and Rose could feel the heat on her cheeks and the pulse of her heart at saying this scandalous thing. She saw the woman sigh and mumble incoherently Satan's name. 

"Quite the opposite, girl." Maleficent stood and cleared her throat, her posture rigid. "As I am aware a human woman can love another as any man."

Briar Rose was astounded. "But, how, it is never mentioned, in none of the storybooks- and my aunts told me to never speak of such sinful things, that mere thought was-"

"Do I look like I care what other stupidities those three were spewing? Now that you mention them, I should go give them the punishment I decided."

And she did, sever the fairies from their magic that is, after reassuring Briar Rose once again that she would return. She knew the girl only wanted her company because it meant escape from the slumber, and yet it still left her shaken every time. It was foreign to be a wanted source of conversation, or to simply be with someone.

It had not gone unnoticed that the person who sought her was beautiful beyond belief, and it was frustrating enough that her storm that night did not lack in intensity. 

Rose never saw her again.

She shook her head and now Briar Rose had to make a choice. She had to choose who to trust. 

Because what her family was telling her did not add up with what Maleficent had told her in her dream visits. It was clear, that someone was lying.

She looked at her bleeding finger and realized she had no idea what to do.

But if she was to make this life hers this time, this decision will be for herself and no one else. She had been sitting idly for too long, hadn't she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for waiting and giving this some luv i really hope it was worth the wait :s  
> please give me comments and let me know x


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